Asahi Kasei reported that its sales for the first half (April-September) of the fiscal year ending March 2025 totaled 1.49 trillion yen ($9.68 billion), up 10.7% year-on-year; operating income was 108.92 billion yen, up 94.9%; ordinary income was 103.71 billion yen, up 99.2%; and net income was 60.25 billion yen, up 95.3%. The environmental solutions business in the materials segment,...
The establishment of a subcommittee on the environment in ISO/TC45 is gaining momentum. The Working Group 16 (Environmental Aspects) has been dealing with environmental issues for a long time. However, with the rubber industry actively working to achieve material recycling on a global scale, the working group is scheduled to be upgraded one level higher to subcommittee. Originally, ISO/TC45 is...
Bridgestone has signed a collaboration agreement with Astrobotic Technology to develop tires for lunar rover vehicles. Working on research and development of tires for lunar rovers since 2019, the company has developed first and second-generation tire concept models and has conducted a series of ground driving tests and simulations. Astrobotic is a leading space exploration and technology development company with...
Zeon reported a 15.0% year-on-year increase in net sales to 213.35 billion yen ($1.38 billion), a 77.6% rise in operating income to 16.80 billion yen, a 42.6% increase in ordinary income to 18.59 billion yen, and an 18.7% rise in net income to 12.30 billion yen in the first half (April-September) of the fiscal year ending March 2025. In the...
Showa Glove has opened Sakaide Plant, the first and largest nitrile rubber glove production facility in Japan. Marking an investment of around 15 billion yen ($100 million), the main feature of the plant is the automation of all processes, from production to packaging, which had been considered difficult to achieve in the past. The site area is approximately 97,000 square...
The impact of China’s overproduction, which has become a global problem for steel and commodity resins, is spreading to synthetic rubber as well. First in line are commodity synthetic rubber products for tires, but will it spread to other types of products as well? On October 25, Ube announced that it has resolved to dissolve its equity method affiliate Lotte...
